Japanese Gardens, Kyoto

I visited Japan recently and was really inspired by the beautiful gardens and temples in Kyoto. I spent hours visiting different gardens from perfect examples of zen gardens to contemporary garden design. These photos give an idea of some of the beautiful gardens in Kyoto. The Japanese pay such attention to every detail and each garden was exquisite in its own way.

One of the elements of design that I found most inspiring was that doorways and windows are used to frame beautiful plants so that your attention is drawn to that particular scene. Beautiful trees or magical moss gardens are brought sharply into focus by using wooden structures to create a picture within the garden. This is definitely something I have brought home with me to use in the future.

We were lucky to visit during the autumn when the Japanese flock to Kyoto and surrounding areas to view the amazing colours of the trees in autumn, just as they do when the cherry blossoms bloom in May. The Japanese culture places enormous value on natural beauty whilst controlling it in such a stylised way, yet still managing to create beautifully harmonious design.